How much polystyrene foam and plastics could these policies divert from landfill?
According to audit data supplied by industry associations and our own City data, plastic bags, hot drink cups and polystyrene packaging take up valuable landfill space, upwards of approximately 80,000 cubic metres of landfill capacity a year. Plastic bags and takeout food containers do not degrade in landfill. While the paper part of most hot drink cups will break down in landfill over time, this degradation contributes to methane gas production. Does the report also address packaging produced by manufacturers or distributors? Yes, it recommends that the In-Store Packaging Working Group reconvene as a Packaging Reduction Working Group by expanding its membership to include factory packaging representatives. This Group would develop a range of options for the City to reduce this type of packaging, including a program where customers could remove factory packaging at the point-of-purchase and leave it behind at the retail location and report back on their findings. Does the report recomm
